Tim stretched and smiled. "Torvan? I will remember it if only you make an impression on me."
A slow thumping in my blood made me smile. "I think I will leave an unforgettable impression."
Tim snickered. "We'll see."
Meanwhile, Temur nodded and whispered to Litha. "It is good this way. I plan to train him in one of the zones starting tomorrow, this way I'll get his measure right now."
Litha frowned. "I hope you know what you are doing. He has no training and that boy is strong enough to catch the eyes of Thayer Argent."
"And now," Temur said, "so does Torvan."
I stepped forward, and Tim also joined me, keeping a bit of distance between us. When he saw Temur coming forward as well, he waved him away. "Don't worry. The fight will be over before you can act like any referee."
Temur raised his brows. Why is he so arrogant?
They would know soon enough.
Tim brought out five small black stones, the size of a fist, from his spatial ring.
They levitated, floating gently around him with his power. "These are dungeon rocks from five floors above us. I paid a lot to get them, but they are useful. Stronger than steel and very hard to crack."
"My power is telekinesis. The ability to move things around with my mind. It's common, but one thing that sets me apart is that I can put instant, powerful force behind an object. An instant spontaneous push." Tim smiled. He could push so fast no ordinary Awakened Iron eyes could see it.
I looked at him, puzzlement on my face. "Why are you telling me your abilities?"
Isn't that just stupidly giving away your advantage like that?
Tim shrugged. "Sooner or later, all our abilities will be known anyway, we can only keep our trump cards close. What will determine victory is how you counter techniques and abilities. But don't worry yourself, you won't be able to avoid this."
I couldn't argue against that, but I'd keep mine close as much as I could. I couldn't use my Dance of the Bones spell, but I had Hermit, and I was Iron rank.
But even then I was getting irritated by the other guy's constant yapping. "You know what, Tim? Every time you open your mouth, you're just begging to be beaten up."
Tim didn't like that and he shut his mouth before his eyes hardened. "Let's see who will beat who up."
One of his five stones spun at the tip of his right finger, pointing right at me.
"Bang," he said, and the stone fired with a shockwave.
It covered the distance between us so fast that I didn't see it, but Hermit did, my hand moved with a blur and I slapped it out of the air with my right hand, but the force behind it sent me back.
And when I looked at my hand, my eyes widening in both shock and surprise. What the.....?
Hermit had manifested.
My right hand was bigger, the skin was now the color of red-black and lined with spikes like a crocodile's tail, it jutted from the back of my hand to my shoulder, where it ended in a single white fang that pointed out, the tips of my fingers ended in razor-sharp claws as well.
Temur let out a whistle, and Litha narrowed her eyes, but a small smile played at her lips. Mopi gasped as this was the first time he was seeing Hermit.
"So you can turn your hand into a monster's," Tim said. "Big deal. This is why Thayer is interested in you? I'm disappointed." He also hid his confusion well because Torvan shouldn't have been able to catch that stone fired with such force and speed.
"Try this!" Tim put two stones in front of him and fired them in different directions, targeting my head and my right knee at the same time.
The thing about Hermit is that it can move throughout my body. All parts of my body. It also enhances and strengthens the said body.
I drew on my connection with Hermit and I lurched forward with a burst of speed, I rolled and then covered the distance toward Tim in a blink.
Instead of waiting for the stones to hit and I should defend, I brought the fight to him.
I brought my clawed hand down with an upward swipe.
Tim jumped back and fired another two stones in quick succession with a resounding boom.
One caught me in the right shoulder and tore a big chunk out, but the other missed. He moved gracefully between my wide, clumsy blows.
I knew I was faster and stronger than Tim, but I couldn't seem to get hold of him. He was like an eel, slippery between the hands. Was this because of my lack of experience?
I used my hand like a bat, swinging forward, but Tim just danced back and punched the air in front of him, causing a ripple and sending a telekinesis punch to my stomach.
"Huuh!" I grunted as I was driven back, frustration pulling at my eyes.
Tim laughed loudly, his eyes twitching. "Are you sure you are Iron? Even Bronze fight better than you!"
"That's true," Temur murmured from the side.
It was now evident that Torvan lacked fighting skills but not firepower. He smiled. "Torvan! Why are you driving back? Put force behind your legs when you go for the punching and clawing. Don't hold back!"
I didn't look back, but I heard Temur. Everyone close by would hear him shouting.
I frowned...have I really been holding back?
I reached inside myself and touched the unholy energy inside me and then focused on Hermit.
Maybe....maybe I have been holding back because everything seems like an illusion, too real to be true because things like this don't happen to me.
Or maybe I just hadn't accepted that I was now what I once dreamed of becoming.
I straightened and breathed out, in, out, and in.
I touched my connection with Hermit and then I mentally promised it food, and then, finally, I could feel the monster mixing with me more.
Tim instantly felt something was wrong, he could feel some changes in his opponent, the slight edge of danger that gleamed off him. "Are you finally serious?"
"Yes," I said. "Time to beat the shit out of you for disturbing our food time."